This dissertation studies one of the newest tools in environmental policy in the developing world context - that of voluntary environmental programmes (VEPs). Developed and promoted in the past few decades by policy practitioners looking to regulate environmental pollution without saddling enterprises and governments with high regulatory costs, VEPs remain vastly under-studied, especially when compared with market instruments and the long-standing command and control approach. Fundamental questions such as who the likely participants are, why firms would voluntarily take on added costs of environmental improvement, and whether any financial and environmental benefits arise from participation remain largely unanswered. This gap in the literature is particularly severe for the case of developing countries. While VEPs in general and ISO 14001 in particular have rapidly increased across the developing world, the understanding of their implications in the academic literature trail far behind. This dissertation aims to fill some of this gap in the existing literature by using unique firm level data and applying rigorous empirical micro-econometric methods to analyse the adoption of the ISO 14001 international voluntary scheme in Thailand. The study focuses on three core manufacturing industries - food and beverages, textiles and wearing apparel, and electronics and electrical appliances, chosen to represent three main types of manufacturing activities in the country. The study finds that both macroeconomic and industry-specific factors influence firms' participation in the ISO 14001 scheme. It also finds that the degrees of environmental impact from programme adoption vary by industry, and that although participation in the programme requires non-trivial commitments of the firm's resources, participating firms are not placed at a financial disadvantage when compared with non-adopting firms.

his master’s thesis deals with implementation of the environmental management system in the concrete company. It compares the implementation in this company with standard ČSN EN ISO 14001. The concept of the environmental management system is introduced in the theoretical part of the master’s thesis and the implementation how is standard specifications being asked. Implementation of the environmental management system by top management describes the practice part. The system implementation is evaluated by repayment time of investment.

Our research is based on data triangulation methodology by which we are going to answer the question with a combination of two elements: the design and development in combination with life cycle perspective according to ISO 14001:2015 and organization consider the life cycle perspective when they design and develop their products, in a modified form introducing many new aspects of life-cycle thinking. This Master’sthesis aims to discuss the Sustainability approach through the use of Environmental Management Standards (EMS), the results achieved by organizations that implement and certify those EMS, and a special focus on the current process of ISO 14001:2015 revision and the logic behind it. Revisiting the concept of Sustainability, the status of the International Organization for Standardization 14001, requirements that related to that life cycle perspective in ISO 14001:2015, eco-design, circular economy and its expected outcomes are discussed. The ISO 14001:2015 revision will have major impacts on the more than 300,000 worldwide certified organizations and on the many professionals that work with it. Analysis of the development of a sustainability portfolio within a globally-operating manufacturing company, we came different illustrate the kinds of life cycle work involved in dealing with activities and interests, connecting activities and interests into action-nets, performing life cycle practices, and spreading the life cycle idea. Finally, we discuss implications of life cycle work for research in the field of organization and management studies and questions related to the topic with quality engineers within the organization.

Inhalt: Das EG-Öko-Audit wird als ein relativ neuartiges Managementinstrument einer umfassenden theoretischen und wirkungsbezogenen Analyse unterzogen. Bei der Teilnahme an diesem Gemeinschaftssystem muß ein nach innen gerichtetes Umweltmanagementsystem implementiert werden, das einer Umweltbetriebsprüfung und zusätzlich einer externen Kontrolle unterworfen werden muß. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt der Arbeit liegt darin zu untersuchen, welche ökonomischen und ökologischen Nutzenpotentiale durch die Einrichtung und den Aufbau eines EMAS-Umweltmanagementsystems prognostiziert werden können. Weiter ist auf Basis der verschiedenen empirischen Erhebungen zu untersuchen, in welchem Umfang diese prognostizierten Nutzenvorteile bei den Unternehmen bei der Teilnahme an EMAS tatsächlich eingetreten sind. Abschließend erfolgt eine Einschätzung der Stärken und Schwächen sowie eine Zukunftsprognose des EG-Öko-Audit-Systems. Es handelt sich bei dieser Arbeit praktisch um die erste umfassende Auseinandersetzung mit dem EMAS-II-System.

The green supply chain concept occurs to mitigate environmental degradations and controlair, water and waste pollution through the adoption of green practices in manufacturing andbusiness operations. The essential ideology behind green concept is to enhance environmental sustainability. This can be through some reviews which can be done on some previous studies, articles or /and papers which includes within its concept caring about the environmental issues. Since the environmental issues are increasing concerning the green supply chain a researchabout the actual supply chain performance and its greening in an integrated environmental management system (EMS) is required to be done. This will be shown in this research. As well as the SC is shown to be driven to ISO 14001 to meet the requirements of life cycle incombination with design and development. A modified model of EMS is suggested aftergreening the SC. It is of great importance to green the SC to come till the objective of this thesis. That is tosatisfy the customer by greening the SC and to modify an EMS which includes practisinggreening the supply chain (SC), certain themes should be studied. Firstly, description of someconcepts related to the topic of this research will be forwarded. The definitions of the SC, SCM and how together they integrate in environmental thinking will be clarified in the first hand.This will simplify the comprehensive of greening SC/SCM in an EMS. The green supply chain(GSC) can reduce the environmental pollution and production costs and it can also balance theeconomic process, create competitive advantage in terms of greater customer satisfaction, positive image and reputation. In this research the SC is also to be driven to ISO 14001, the standardization regarding theenvironmental issues and its impact management. It is valuable also to mention and not to forgetthat, as general nowadays, the increase in industry greenhouse emission are considered as aserious matter that may raise the taxes regarding the emission of more carbon dioxide, whichin turn affects the environmental impacts measure. Sweden depends on the natural resourcesand is the leading producer of ores and metals such as zinc, copper andlead. People also depend on the lakes for water so there must be certain means for a continuousimprovement, a decreasing and not an increasing in the environmental impacts which may leadto pollution and contamination. This comes to reality when an environmentally friendly inputsare utilized and transformed into outputs that can be reclaimed and re-used at the end of theirlife cycle thus creating a sustainable supply chain, considering the manufacturing process from product design development, material selection, delivery to the end the life cycle managementafter the product’s useful life. Through the review of 33 papers/studies, four of these reviews are explained and will be justified here in this research. It will be shown clearly and actually that the questions of thisresearch will get an answer and the objective will be met. In another words this research focuseson the green SC with respect to product life cycle and the design development which will beshown to be a key to customer’s satisfaction. SC performance measure; i.e. quality, delivery,cost and flexibility play an essential role on that. This will be shown when an EMS is structured keeping the basis of ISO 14001 (can be the latest version: 2015). The methodology followed is the collection of data from the papers and studies, analysis oftheir results, observations of their conclusions and the comparison of the similarity and contrast of their contributions. Extra conclusion to the conclusions of the papers can be added if found. Some recommendation is given for future studies so as a continuous gain obtained while developing the studies.

Background: The business-to-business (B2B) industry stands for a significant portion of the environmental issue, yet the customer is still having price, quality, and service as major determinants for the choice of suppliers. The difficulty on how to evaluate environmental factors is hence increasingly demanding. One common and simple way for businesses to present their efforts towards sustainability is to certify their Environmental Management System with an ISO 14001 certification. Nonetheless, the question remains of the value of this premise in Sweden in our contemporary world. This study thereby investigates the value of working with environmentally sustainable business partners in the B2B market in Sweden. Purpose: This paper aims to explore the cost and benefits of working with environmentally sustainable business partners, using ISO 14001 as a reference point, within the Swedish B2B market.  Method: This study adheres to the interpretivist paradigm, with a qualitative approach. Nine semi-structured interviews with six B2B companies in Sweden were conducted and analysed via thematic analysis, using codes and emerging themes.  Conclusion: There are severe gaps in the ISO 14001 framework, and that one cannot trust it as much regarding the environment as intended or as much as firms do today. The real value for environmental sustainability is created when sustainable B2B firms start selecting suppliers based on their own sustainable values, not on time efficiency or costs. For a shared responsibility, firms have to evaluate suppliers based on actual and not perceived environmentally sustainable efforts.

With the hot topic of the climate change effects a desperate change is needed in the world ofthe national and global industry. A good start is an environmental management system, EMS.The main focus of the on-going process of an EMS is to organise the company’s work, to decrease the use of raw materials and energy, and to severely reduce pollutions to air, water and land. The EMS is a part of a sustainable development and a valuable tool for everyindustry who wants to better their image and keeping environmental concerned customers. Asia and Thailand are growing markets where SME and large-scale industries have started tointroduce ISO standards. The top management of these organisations have opened their eyes to the demand of the clients regarding less environmental impact from their products and services. The motive for this study, carried out as an MFS is to get an insight of the Thai industries and how well they have implemented their EMS. / www.ima.kth.se

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autor / Diseña e implementa los elementos que conforman un sistema de gestión de calidad, medio ambiente, seguridad y salud ocupacional según las normas ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 y OHSAS 18001:2007 en la empresa Grifo Dennis S.A.C. La empresa Grifo Dennis S.A.C. cuenta con 11 estaciones de servicio por lo que se toma como muestra la estación de servicio Dennis para la implementación del SIG. Para la recolección de datos e información se emplean técnicas tales como la entrevista al personal, la revisión de documentos, la encuesta al personal, la observación de actividades y tareas insitu y la auditoría. Para el procesamiento de la información se utiliza herramientas como son las listas de verificación, diagramas de flujo, diagrama causa-efecto, diagrama de afinidad, diagrama de relaciones y matriz de priorización. Se diseñan encuestas para medir el nivel de satisfacción de los clientes por los servicios brindados (venta de combustible y venta de productos en minimarket), el empleo de esta herramienta da a conocer el incremento de la satisfacción del cliente en ambos servicios a 56% y 64.7% luego de implementarse las acciones de mejora, esto trae expectativas a la organización, entre ellas, futuras implementaciones en los demás locales con los que cuenta Grifo Dennis S.A.C. La implementación favorece el cumplimiento legal y la mejora del desempeño en seguridad, salud ocupacional y medio ambiente, se reduce el número de incidentes en 92%, se espera cumplir la meta de 0 incidentes para fines del 2014. De acuerdo al análisis económico estimado, se concluye que la implementación del proyecto SIG en Grifo Dennis S.A.C. tendrá una tasa de retorno de 27% a finales del 2014, lo cual indica una buena rentabilidad anual promedio. Asimismo, el VAN y el Costo/Beneficio muestran un panorama favorable para la organización con la implementación del SIG. Mejoran los niveles de comunicación, esto gracias a las charlas de sensibilización y capacitaciones constantes al personal relativas a la importancia de su participación en el desarrollo del SIG. Se establecen los criterios para el control de la documentación, ahora Grifo Dennis cuenta con manuales, procedimientos, instructivos, formatos, planes, entre otros documentos, que son guías y estándares en el desarrollo de las actividades de la organización, asimismo sirven como medio de capacitación para el personal ingresante. / Trabajo de suficiencia profesional

Companies in South Africa who have implemented the ISO 14001 environmental management system have claimed that it offered benefits such as an improved environmental performance and a business advantage. However, to date the commercial benefits associated with ISO 14001 in South Africa have not been quantified so the claims of a financial advantage cannot be verified. This study therefore sought to assess the financial benefits accruing to various manufacturing enterprises in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape provinces of South Africa who have implemented ISO 14001. There was a particular focus on determining the cost savings and return on investment which resulted from the purchase of „environmentally friendlier‟ raw materials; the reduction of process waste (by the reuse, reduction and recycling of waste) as well as the more efficient use of resources such as electricity, water and fuel. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey sent to key decision makers in the selected organisations, as well as follow-up in-depth interviews with selected individuals within each organisation. The results of the study showed that the benefits of ISO 14001 certification included improved environmental awareness among employees; enhanced responsibility for environmental concerns by employees; better data management; reduced operational and production costs; and new income streams linked to re-use and recycling initiatives. Consequently it can be said that the long-term financial benefits justify the relatively high cost; the time intensive obligations and the human resource requirements of ISO 14001 certification. That said, it was also found that smaller companies face relatively more financial hurdles in implementing an EMS, and thus, it is recommended that tax incentives for such firms to implement and EMS be considered. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

<p>The awareness regarding environmental issues is increasing and as a result a large number of products are eco-labeled. This enables the consumers to make enlightened environmental decisions when purchasing products. Eco-labeling is no longer for products only, but also for services like hotels. It’s difficult to determine what it actually means to eco-label a hotel and what kind of benefits it includes. Our goal for this essay regarding eco-labeling of hotels is to consider the question –why eco-label?</p><p>The essay also considers benefits or disadvantages connected to eco-labeling and also aim to collect theories and thoughts about the meaning of this in the future. In order to reach this goal the essay involves a case study with hotels who are eco-labeled and those who are not. It also contains information from interviews with representatives from four different eco-labeling organizations and one government environmental scientist. This combined with collected theories aim to give a clear picture about the main focus point –why eco-label? The results show that the hotels whom were studied consider environmental work as very important. It also shows that they notice an increasing demand among customers. The demand also seems to be higher among corporate customers. Eco-labeling can be used as a tool to show the customers that the hotel is working according to special criteria which aims to a more sustainable environment. Care about the environment and increasing customer demand are two main important reasons for the hotels to get an eco-label. It has also shown that there can be more reasons behind the decision to eco-label like; the assistance regarding environmental issues from the eco-labeling organization, competitive advantages, brand related and corporate values. There are also challenges associated with eco-labeling; the ones we have seen are that the environmental work can stop evolving after the label has been accepted. Sometimes the eco-label might not even be the most environmental friendly solution. We have also seen that the eco-labels are combined with different compromises and that they often cost money and take time to implement.</p><p>We have reached the conclusion that in the future eco-labeling of hotels is likely to be significantly important and collaboration between eco-labeling organizations will probably grow and be more international. The results do not generally apply for all hotels but it gives an important insight on eco-labels for hotels, and can give arguments about the subject.</p> / <p>Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen bygger på frågan – varför miljöcertifiera? Uppsatsen ger således en bild av miljöcertifieringars roll och betydelse för hotellverksamheter, där för- och nackdelar ställs mot varandra. Även resonemang kring miljöcertifiering av hotellverksamheters sannolika roll och betydelse i framtiden behandlas.</p><p>Metod: Uppsatsen bygger på en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och en hermeneutisk tolkningsstrategi. Informationsinsamlandet består av fallstudier, intervjuer, litteraturstudier och informationsinhämtning på internet. Tio intervjuer genomfördes med fyra personer från fyra olika hotell, både miljöcertifierade och inte, fem personer som på ett eller annat sätt arbetar med de olika miljöcertifieringarna samt med en forskare i miljöpolitik.</p><p>Slutsats: Studien visar att många vill engagera sig i miljöarbete, både hotellverksamheterna och deras kunder. Miljöcertifieringar kan även vara ett verktyg för att förmedla och strukturera miljöarbetet. Dessutom har det genom denna studie visat sig att miljöcertifieringen kan bidra med andra positiva aspekter som exempelvis en förbättrad image och identitet samt en tydligare struktur på miljöarbetet. Det finns dock problem och nackdelar även med miljöcertifieringar och med att miljöcertifiera sig, exempelvis att de kräver mycket resurser och att själva miljöcertifieringen inte behöver vara det miljövänligaste.</p>